Behave Yourself

By Kakoli Ghosh

Bouncing thoughts prance around

like a truant kid, hopping

and splashing out monotony

from the dull puddle of routine;

soiled shoes, socks, school dress,

the magical childhood of clumsiness,

get washed, starched and ironed.

Perfect creases of cold manner

sustain a gentle anatomy;

controversies provoke prohibitions,

inhaled truth turns injurious to health,

justice smoulders like a long cigarette,

ashtray holds patience,

DNA protects useless evidence.

Submissive obedience grows older

running softly like an old river,

flooded addresses float after disaster

like empty cardboard boxes;

hollow sockets of dried up eyes

capture live videos of molest

as a genuine decent bystander.

Freedom of expression rots

in the stale reflection of the sky

decaying enclosed in habitual ditches,

grim like the vacant gaze

of a caught fish waiting to die.

Raindrops carry the sky

as tears embalm a cry.

Running wheels splash slurry dignity

from the dead puddle of certainty

on the stiff uniform of conscience.

Insured fear gradually settles

below the stirred up guilt;

dreams get stubborn stains,

expired medicines buy insipid time.

By Kakoli Ghosh